Japanese Amazon
by Odette821
Summary: I'm reposting this after some rewrites. Not about Shampoo! Please email me if you would like to cowrite and or preread for me!
1. Prologue: The Last Straw

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Ranma ½ or anything connected to it. pout Wish I did though…

This is my first attempt a fan fiction so please be kind. C&C is appreciated but flames are not (they smell funny). Please e-mail me with any suggestions you may have for the plot (I'm kind of stuck). This is _not_ a story about Shampoo, and I don't particularly like her. Well here it goes…

Japanese Amazon

By: Odette821

Prologue- The Last Straw

Near midnight, a pair of hazel eyes watched from concealment as a young woman with short blue-black hair slipped out of the Tendo family home. The owner of the eyes followed silently.

---

This was the last straw, Akane could take no more. Today had been her 17th birthday and Ranma's other fiancés had done everything in their power to make her life a living hell. Ranma didn't even notice and said she was imagining things. Well she was done, with him, his fiancés, the whole damned situation. She was leaving. For how long or where to she didn't know or care.

As she ran the sound of her steps covered the approach of the shadow that slipped from cover to cover. So it was a complete surprise when she was grabbed from behind and a hand snaked around to clamp over her mouth, muffling her scream.

The letter arrived a few days after Akane disappeared.

_Everyone,_

_Things here have gotten too crazy for me. I'm going to train for a while with a friend. Please don't try to follow me, or I will only say away longer. I will write again soon. I love you all._

_Akane _

-One Year Later-

Ranma paced the length of the yard for the hundredth time, body tense, nerves frayed. Today was the day Akane would return, according to her last letter. He didn't know what to do with himself; it wasn't like he _liked_ the uncute tomboy... but he just couldn't sit still.

Things wad changed while she was gone. Ryoga was disappearing fore longer now, and for the two or three months instead of weeks. The first time he came back after she disappeared he looked a little green, but soon recovered. His battle cry of 'Ranma prepare to die!' had abruptly disappeared, though they still fought. Ukyo had gotten in the habit if taking him in of his infrequent stops in Nerma, and seemed a bit sad when he left. Kuno, with Nabiki's help finally had his sister committed. With therapy, and the judicious use of various medications, he almost seemed normal, though he still occasionally spouted mangled Shakespeare. Mousse finally got some contacts and could see just fine now. Also, surprisingly, after a while his sometimes violent pursuit of Shampoo had… cooled, and after Ranma was 'encouraged' to eat certain Amazon spices it stopped completely. The two young men certainly weren't friends, but they where no longer enemies. Shampoo seemed confused by the change in her formerly blind suitor, though she still ardently chased Ranma.

The rest of the crew seemed to be handling the situation better than him. Kasumi was making a birthday dinner with all of Akane's favorite dishes with the help of Ukyo and Shampoo. Sitting of the porch Nabiki was typing away on her new laptop (a thank you gift from Kuno). Soun and Genma where playing their endless games of Shogi, cheating at every opportunity. And Mousse was sorting and polishing his weapons (Authors Note: Damn, where does he keep all that stuff!). All the while Ranma just wanted to throw a fit. _She_ was coming home after an entire _year_ away and they where acting like it was just any other day. Suddenly his battle senses started screaming. There was another fighter nearby, a strong one. Ranma spun around to face the wall that surrounded the Tendo home…


	2. Chapter 1: Return To Nerma

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Ranma ½ or anything connected to it. pout wish I did though…

This is my first attempt a fan fiction so please be kind. C&C is appreciated but flames are not (they smell funny). Please e-mail me with any suggestions you may have for the plot (I'm kind of stuck). This is _not_ a story about Shampoo, and I don't particularly like her. Well here it goes…

Japanese Amazon

By: Odette821

Chapter 1- Return To Nerma

With a graceful leap Akane left her perch on the wall and landed softly of the lush grass of the lawn. The past year had changed her. Where before she had been strong in a chunky sort of way, she now possessed a flat wiry strength, and moved with an unconscious animal grace. Even her hair was different, having a reddish tinge instead of blue; her chocolate brown where also tinged red. She wore a pair of scuffed running shoes, cutoff jean shorts, and a red tank top that had the words 'plays with fire' across the chest in gold.

Above and behind her a second girl was still standing on the wall. She seemed to be the same age as Akane, though much shorter. She possessed long raven hair that unbound would reach her ankles, though it was in a braid at the moment, and hazel eyes. She wore a pair of worn army boots, kaki board shorts (AN: you know, the kind that come down to your knees) and a tight black t-shirt that had a drawing of a cartoon pigeon with the words 'Mmmm...Tastes like chicken' written beneath it in white. Both wore light backpacks, full of camping gear.

Ranma strode across the space separating him from his fiancé and pulled her into a crushing embrace, shocking the hell out of everyone, especially himself. Just as suddenly he pulled back, gripping her shoulders tight, to look deeply into her eyes. Searching for what? He didn't know.

"What the hell do you think you where doing running away like that! Don't you know how much you scared m**-**everyone!" he caught himself before he said something he wasn't ready to admit.

"Getting away from you and the craziness that follows," Akane said in a tone that dared him to deny it. Her answer obviously hurt him; he released his hold and turned away.

This seemed to release the rest of the family and friends, and they rushed in with hugs and questions.

"How are you Sugar?"

"Where violent-girl been?"

"Welcome home Tendo-san."

"Oh my, yes, welcome home little sister."

"Waaaa! My little girl is home!"

"Are you finally going to marry my son?"

"Who's the other girl?"

The last was Nabiki, who was giving the stranger her most penetrating stare.

"Oh, that's Fuu-chan our cousin," Akane replied in an offhand manner. Fuu bowed, keeping her place on the wall.

"Our WHAT!" Nabiki was floored; she had thought that she had known all her relatives. She glared daggers at her father.

"Don't blame Daddy Biki-chan Mum never told him about her twin. I would have left to train with her when I turned sixteen, but she died about two and a half years ago. So Fuu-chan had to finish her training before she could come and get me," Akane shrugged, she had an entire year to get used to the idea.

Nabiki's mind was whirling, trying to fit this new information into her view of her family. Suddenly Akane dropped her pack and rummaged around in it, finally pulling out two slightly battered manila folders. One was titled _Akane's Year Away_ and the other _Hibiki Fuu. _

"So you don't have to interrogate us," Akane said with a little smirk.

Blushing slightly, Nabiki glanced at the titles of the folders, then looked again, eyes widening at the sight of Fuu's last name.

During the exchange Fuu had been looking around, and when she looked behind her face lit up in a smile, displaying the trademark Hibiki fangs. With a little squeal she said, "Twin! Get your butt up here and give me a hug!"

And lo and behold _Ryoga_ appeared beside her and pulled the much smaller girl into a bear hug, lifting her off her feet. On the ground Akane wore a scowl that didn't quite hide the grin that trying to fight its way out.

"And where is my hug?"

"Right here!" he mock roared as he swooped down to pull her into a crushing embrace.

"Oof! I'd like my ribs to be in one piece please!" Akane managed to gasp out.

"Hey! A guy cracks one rib and you never let it go." He said with a grin.

Ranma started forward, ready to beat up Ryoga for _ever_ having hurt Akane, but was stopped by a sharp glance from Akane.

"Oh my, I forgot dinner! It's ready everyone!" when Kasumi said the magic word (dinner a.k.a. food) she had everyone's undivided attention; then of course there was the usual rush to the table, and absolute silence as they waited for the aforementioned food to arrive.

It was an odd meal for the Tendo household, since Ranma was too busy staring at Akane to fend off his father's attempts at stealing his food, and stealing food from his father (AN: Yes, I know that was an awful sentence but I couldn't think of how else to say it.). Akane calmly ignored his stares and kept up a running whispered commentary to her cousin as everyone talked.

Afterward, Akane and Fuu went to Akane's room to unpack. About fifteen minutes pass…

"GOD _DAMN_ THEM!" it was Fuu's voice. Her language noticeably deteriorated from there.

Ryoga shot up, and sprinted toward Akane's room. A minute later her brother's voice joined hers, but his yelling was more enlightening than hers.

"WHAT THE HELL DO THEY THINK THEY'RE DOING? USING YOU TO BUY A FUCKING _TRADE AGREMENT_! WELL I'LL KILL HIM BEFORE THEY CAN FORCE THEIR DAMN 'MARRAGE'! WHO'S THE BASTARD WHO AGREED TO THIS? WHO?" a momentary pause, "MOUSSE PREPARE TO DIE!"

When Mousse when pale one could not tell whether it was from Ryoga's imminent beating or the fact he had apparently been engaged.

"Stop this foolishness now! Mousse agreed to nothing, I did," Cologne's arrival during Ryoga's tirade had gone unnoticed, but for once everyone was glad to see her. Especially Mousse. Ryoga was lifting him off the ground by his throat at the time.

"Old woman you better have a good explanation for this," Fuu waved a scroll in Cologne's general direction, looking deathly pale. Both girls had come downstairs with Ryoga, though at a more sedate pace.

For a moment the only sound in the room was Mousse gasping for air.

"There has been an undeclared, but very nasty war going on between our tribes for generations. As the last two Amazon tribes we cannot afford to continue this, or our people will be no more. This betrothal was only called a trade agreement to save face," she gave Ryoga a sharp look, "If it had come sooner, your mother would not have died."

Everyone was quiet for a moment, then…

"There's no way I'm letting my sister be forced into-,"Ryoga was cut off by Fuu.

"She's right Ryoga; Mother wouldn't have died if we had been trading with Cologne's tribe and if someone else dies because I wouldn't agree, their death would be on my head," Fuu's voice was resigned and weary, "I'm going to bed; I'll deal with this when I wake up… some time next year."

Akane was not surprised by her cousin's rapid change of emotion, having lived with them for the past year. She smiled weakly, unable to help her family and friends with their shock and confusion, then followed Fuu upstairs. Everyone else wandered off to their own beds, still trying to sort out the days events.


	3. Chapter 2: Beginnings And Endings

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Ranma ½ or anything connected to it. pout Wish I did though…

This is my first attempt a fan fiction so please be kind. C&C is appreciated but flames are not (they smell funny). Please e-mail me with any suggestions you may have for the plot (I'm kind of stuck). Also, contact me if you would be interested in pre-reading/co-writing for/with me. This _not_ a story about Shampoo, and I don't particularly like her, so you have been warned. Well here it goes…

Japanese Amazon

By: Odette821

Chapter 2- Beginnings and Endings

It was morning again and last night's crowd had reassembled. Everyone was sitting around the dining table trying, and failing, to look relaxed. Fuu was the first to speak.

"I had Nabiki look at the…trade agreement/peace treaty/marriage contract and it allows for Mousse and me to be engaged for an unlimited amount of time, so for the time being we can work on more pressing matters, a.k.a. Ranma's engagement to Akane," Akane stood up and began what was obviously a prepared speech.

"Now that I have been adopted by the Japanese Amazons, I must live by their laws, witch are similar to the Chinese, but more relaxed. According to those laws my engagement to Ranma is not valid because I never gave my consent," she held up her hand to forestall any interruption, "There are only two ways for the engagement to become valid; one is for me to give my consent, witch I will not, the other is for him to beat me in combat, witch he is no longer able," There was a stunned silence at her seemingly arrogant claim.

"What the hell do you mean, 'I am no longer able.' I can still beat you with one hand tied behind my back! There is no way you could get good enough in one year," Ranma was seriously angry, his pride had been pricked by Akane's statement of superior fighting ability. He was also a little worried because his own fighter's instincts told him it might be true.

In the past Akane would have yelled back and eventually malleted him, but now she simply looked at him calmly for a moment then said, "Why don't we just find out? Saoatome Ranma I challenge you," then she turned and started walking toward the dojo. After a few steps she realized Ranma wasn't following. Without turning her head Akane said, "Coming? Or are you afraid that I really _can_ beat you?"

Ranma's already bruised ego could not take that final shot, so he stood up and followed.

-The Dojo-

(Author's Note: I suck at fight scenes so please forgive me if I'm vague.)

The fight was short: Akane goaded Ranma into attacking her then did the same thing to him that he would have done a year ago, namely avoiding everything her threw at her and not fighting back. Finally, Ranma overextended himself in a punch and Akane struck back with a beautiful right hook to the point of his chin. He sailed across the room in a graceful arc and was out cold when he hit the floor.

Of course being part of the NWC (AN: Nerma Wrecking Crew for the uninformed) he recovered in a few moments.

Everyone was silent for about a minute.

Then all hell broke loose:

"WAAA! My baby is all grown up! I'm so proud!"

"What about the joining of the schools!"

"I might have some…jobs available for you little sister." ($$)

"Kitchen Destroyer really give up Husband? No trick?"

"Oh my, should I call Dr. Tofu?"

"Nice punch Tendo-san."

"I second that cuz."

"How'd you get so good so fast sugar?"

"Thank you daddy. I don't give a flying fuck about the schools. No thank you Nabiki. No, it's not a trick. I didn't hit him _that_ hard Kasumi. Thank you Mousse, Ryo-kun. And (1) Ranma's been slacking (2) well…time moves weird in the forest, and (3) not all of my opponents where human; you learn fast when something wants to kill and eat you," Akane managed to get it all out in one breath, a feat nearly as impressive as Ranma's defeat.

Everyone took a moment to sort out the rapid fire answer. Nabiki was the first one to notice one of the more important parts or her sister's statements.

"Wait a minute, did you say '_kill and eat you_'!"

Akane simply shrugged, "The animals in the forest around the village are…weird, and sometimes fighters go out to deal with some of the more dangerous ones, not a pleasant job but necessary if they want to stay where they are."

"Some pretty powerful magic was used in a war several hundred years ago and the spill-over changed the animals in the region (along with some other effects), they generally got smarter, or grew bigger, or developed some new offensive/defensive weaponry (AN: aka poison/ invisibility, etc.). We live there because the animals keep most people away, witch is why we are the only surviving Amazon tribe in Japan," Fuu added helpfully.

Ranma, sulking in a corner, finally spoke up, "Come on, those animals can't be _that_ bad, I mean, _Akane_ beat them."

Everyone stared at him in horror. Did he _want_ to be malleted? Then they turned to Akane waiting for the destruction to start. To everyone's confusion, she simply gave him an icy stare.

"Umm, little sis? Why isn't Ranma in LEO (AN: Low Earth Orbit)?" Nabiki finally asked.

"You learn to control your temper when you get the crap beat out of you every time you loose it," Akane simply shrugged.

"I've always found that particular method effective," Fuu's grin was vicious, "Though it doesn't seem to help foot-in-mouth disease," she added as an afterthought.

"No, it doesn't, does it…" Mousse's voice was dry.

The rest of the NWC had left, to pump Akane for information, leaving Mousse alone with Fuu.

The formerly blind marshal artist looked a little unsettled, cleared his throat, then spoke, "Umm...What are you going to do now?"

Looking equally uncomfortable Fuu answered, "I'm going to train Ranma, he has too much potential to let it go to waste. Anyway, he's completely ignoring a potential source of power, and I hate that kind of stupidity, if he used it he could easily surpass Happousai and Cologne," Mousse gave her a surprised and questioning glance, but she ignored it, and he took the hint.

He changed the subject by asking about something that had been bugging him, "Akane said something about time earlier that didn't really make sense. It moving strangely...?"

"Oh, that, a couple of generations ago, one of our Elders, who was powerfully Gifted, used some of the leftover magic from the war to enchant our training grounds. You can spend what feels like a full day inside but only an hour passes on the outside. Akane probably got the equivalent of four or five years of training while she was gone, since we would train in there at least a dozen times a day. The only drawback is that you have to eat _huge_ meals every time you left the grounds," Fuu explained.

Mousse's only reply was to blink several times in surprise. The two left the dojo to join the rest of the group in the Tendo home.


End file.
